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Saddam Hussein Loyalist Brigades of Tikrit (1962: The Apocalypse)
Overview The 3 to 4 battalion strong Saddam Hussein Loyalist Brigades of Tikrit (Arabic:كتائب الموالية صدام حسين في تكريت) are a major local rebel group in Tikrit in the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate. It's principal location of operations are are in Tikrit, Al-Awja, Baiji and Ad Dawr. It is formed ethnically and religiously mainly by Sunni Arabs. They are also the most idealistically loyal and devoted followers of Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, who was was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until his forced removal n 9 April 2003. History During the opening weeks of the 2003 U.S.\French survivor nations-led invasion, many experts and observers correctly speculated that Saddam would return to his home town of Tikrit as his "last stronghold". Ad-Dawr is home to a housing complex called "Saad 14", which was built by Hyundai Engineering & Constructions Inc., a major South Korean construction company, during the 1980s. It was partly built by S. Koreans and greatly enlarged by Iraqi government in the late 1980's. The city was subjected to intense aerial bombardment meant to throw Saddam's elite Republican Guard troops out of the city. They failed as they were mostly hiding in a covert subterranean bunker complex in Ad-Dawr no one knew about. On April 13, 2003 several thousand U.S. Marines and other coalition members aboard 300 armored vehicles converged on the town, meeting major to fanatical. With the failure to take Tikrit, U.S. Army Major General Stanley McChrystal said, "I would anticipate that the major combat operations are to continue for some time." In May 2003, the 4th Battalion 42nd Field Artillery, a part of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, along with the 534th Signal Company and a unit of the Australian S.A.S., established a Forward Operating Base just south of the town, called F.O.B. Arrow. On May 15, 2003, troops from the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division raided the town, arresting only 28 suspected Baath Party supporters and losing several of their own men due to the unexpectedly heavy resistance. Tikrit and Ad-Dawr were isolated and bypassed by coalition forces in the October 2003, after 6 more months of bitter fighting with the Saddam loyalists. The Saddam Hussein Loyalist Brigades of Tikrit narrowly defeated a Peshmerga attack on January 1st 2006. Sāmarrā (Arabic: سامَرّاء‎) was taken off them by I.S.I.S. in the April of 2014. Samarra is a key city in Salahaddin province, a major part of the so-called Sunni Triangle where insurgents were active during the Iraq War. The Saddam Hussein Loyalist Brigades of Tikrit narrowly defeated Ansar al-Islam in the month long May 2008 siege of Tikrit. I.S.I.S. later attacked the city and killed a large number of it's defenders in the May 1st, 2014 battle of Tikrit. To this day we still don't know if he's dead or alive, but we do know that Tikrit is still an active hot-bed of violent pro-Saddam activity. Ansar al-Islam is currently battling I.S.I.S around Mosul. Opponents It's sworn enemies are- the Free Syrian Republic of Homs and Hama, Democratic Republic of Kurdistan, Syrian Alawite Republic, Republic of Shiite Iraq, Ansar al-Islam and I.S.I.S Saddam Hussein To this day we still don't know if he's dead or alive, but we do know that Tikrit and near by towns are still an active hot-bed of violent pro-Saddam activity. Category:Iraq Category:1962: The Apocalypse